


hands so bloody, tastes like honey

by sparklingapplejuice



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus survives the apocalypse au, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Survival, fix-it? tbh I don't know yet, god really doesn't like klaus, yes Dolores will still be here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2019-12-18 13:35:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18250901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparklingapplejuice/pseuds/sparklingapplejuice
Summary: God wasn't fond of Klaus, and she had no mercy.or, Klaus survives the apocalypse and stumbles upon a familiar face.





	1. we're reaching for death on the end of a candle

**Author's Note:**

> note: in this timeline (since five didn't travel back yet) klaus never dies at the rave, never met dave, and never got sober so he's not doing so hot.
> 
> (also didn't proofread this so suffer through the spelling errors or shame me for them)

Klaus never understood the appeal of monochrome. Sure, his wardrobe contained mainly black clothing, but a splash of colour was what accented the look. It was at times like these when Klaus would long for access to Allison's wardrobe. He would die for the feather boa. 

Oh wait.

Chuckling at his dark sense of humour, Klaus continued down the muted grey pathway. 

Who knew the apocalypse would be the thing to take him down. After countless overdoses and years of living on the streets, the one thing Klaus could not have ever predicted would end his pitiful existence was the reason for his death. Who knew Vanya could be so unpredictable.

In the distance, a bicycle bell rang, signalling the arrival of a child in an outfit unsettlingly cheery for the afterlife. The basket on the handlebars held flowers that made Klaus wonder how life even existed in the _afterlife_.

God, he was high even in death.

"Almost didn't see you there." the girl said, looking up at Klaus from her bicycle. "You blend right in around here, being so pale and all. They don't have any sun down there?"

"Down there? Where am I?"

It was then when it dawned on Klaus that he was staring into the eyes of God herself.

"Where do you think?"

"Not sure, I'm agnostic," Klaus sighed.

The girl looked just about ready to put Klaus's head through the nearest wall, but composed herself.

"Doesn't really matter," she interrupted. "You can't stay here."

"Why?"

"To be blunt, I don't really like you all that much."

"Yeah, me neither. But wait a minute aren't you supposed to love all of us?" Klaus asked, not really surprised if he was being honest. He would have called bullshit if an all powerful being claimed to love Klaus.

"Where'd you get that idea?" she asked as if she hadn't watched the concept of organized religion branch for thousands of years. She didn't wait for an answer. "I need you so I can pick and choose. And you don't rub me the right way."

It was a strange concept for Klaus to wrap his head around.

"Wait, so you made us, you made me?" He asked, leaning forward to meet her eye level.

"Well, I made everything else, so I must have made you." she responded, eying him strangely. "Why, do you have another idea?"

"Well, I never really believed in the whole creator thing, but I was expecting more of a Clint Eastwood type. Perhaps you could have come in on a horse rather than a bicycle. Seriously, I would have ditched the sunhat and daisies and gone for a more western vibe."

"I was going to tell you to keep them to yourself but I suppose it's too late for that now." The girl (would she count as a girl?) sighed. "One conversation and I'm already tired of you. Can't say I'm surprised."

Klaus would like to say he was following, but when was he ever?

"You have to leave." the girl said, getting back on her bike. "There's not much for you to do down there now, but it's better than being stuck with you up here." 

She rode away before Klaus could ask anymore questions.

He was going back? Where?

His vision faded to black as he pondered.

...

Klaus woke up to the uncomfortable pressure of rubble and the overwhelming scent of ash filling his nose. He jerked awake, looking at his surroundings. His memory flooded back as he took in the collapsed buildings fire, and hazy sky.

"God really has no mercy." Klaus mumbled as he pushed himself off the pile of stones he found himself face down upon. Brushing the dust off his clothes, he took in his surroundings. All he could hear was the crackling of the flames, the whistling of wind, and... was that crying?

Sure enough, as he followed the sound of the sobbing, he came across a huddled figure crouched beside Diego's body, desperately trying to push the rubble off of him. 

What was this kid doing with his brother?

More importantly, what was this kid doing alive?

"Hey, excuse me-" Klaus started, but stopped in the middle of his sentence when the kid whipped around to look at Klaus in the eyes. 

He knew that face.

The piercing eye colour, the dark brown hair, the uniform, it was all too familiar.

Please don't be dead please don't be dead please don't be-

"Five." Klaus breathed out. "Are you- you're not-" 

Five barrelled into Klaus, wrapping his arms around him, and Klaus was sure that Five was not a ghost. He was alive. Klaus buried his face into Five's hair, holding him tight.

"This... this is where you went all those years ago." Klaus came to the sudden realization as his brother cried into his chest. "When did you get here?"

"A week ago." Five sniffled, collapsing to his knees. "I didn't mean to, Klaus, I didn't want this!"

Klaus's heart clenched. His now little brother was stuck in an apocalypse at 13 by himself for a whole week. At least he wasn't alone now.

"I-I'm here, buddy." Klaus stammered, not really experienced in the field of comforting traumatized children, he being a traumatized child at one point.

Klaus wasn't used to seeing his brother look so hopeless, so frightened. Five had always believed himself to be perfectly capable, without weakness. He was confident, and was hesitant to show his emotions. But this version of his brother was terrified, vulnerable, and didn't hesitate to hold his brother close.

"I want to bury everyone but I can't. I'm weak." Five muttered, looking down at his bloodied hands. "I can't lift the rubble."

Klaus inhaled sharply at the though of his kid brother burying four of his siblings- well, three now.

"Well it's a good thing you didn't bury me, or I'd have woken up to a face full of dirt!" Klaus said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Wait, how are you even alive?" Five asked, "I checked your pulse days ago, you were definitely dead!"

"Well lets just say God isn't really a fan of me."

"That makes two of us."


	2. time made me stronger, you're no longer on my mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some apocalypse hijinks, plot is for sissies

Withdrawal was a bitch. Klaus's hands trembled as he lifted the stones off of Luther's body. His mind screamed at him and bile rose up in his throat. He looked anxiously over to Five, who was struggling to move a piece of rubble out of his way. 

Not in front of him.

He just hoped to god that the souls of the dead wouldn't bother haunting an apocalyptic wasteland. 

"I still haven't found Ben and Vanya's bodies."

Five's words made Klaus's stomach drop, and the nausea only grew.

"Maybe they survived? I mean, you did, so they might still be out there!" Five suddenly became determined, moving the rubble away with more confidence. Klaus stared helplessly at the oblivious kid. 

"Five," Klaus began. The hope started to fade from Five's eyes after seeing Klaus's tired expression. "I don't know about Vanya but Ben... he's gone. He was gone a long time ago." 

Five fell back to the ground.

"Shit."

Five continued to move rubble until the skin on his hands tore and his voice grew hoarse from berating himself. Klaus was too exhausted to do anything.

...

It took another full week, but three graves were dug, and their siblings were buried.

"I'm sorry I never came back to you guys. I wish I could have, somehow, and I hope I will be able to someday. I know I acted like I didn't care about you all, but you meant the world to me, but I guess that's destroyed too." Five laughed humourlessly, looking over at Klaus. 

"Well, since Five didn't know, I guess I'll share the ugly truth. Luther, you were a dog to our father, following blindly your whole life, even to the moon and back. Diego, you always acted like a prick, but you drove me around and actually acknowledged my existence, so thanks for that. You're a big softie. And Allison, I'll give you a big A plus for learning from your mistakes. You used to be super self absorbed and use your powers to get whatever you want, but in the end, you were thinking of your daughter rather than yourself. We were dysfunctional, but I loved you guys. I'll miss you." Klaus sighed, delivering his speech in a melancholic tone, trying to stop the twitching of his eye.

Five shot a confused glance at the nature of Klaus's words, but didn't say any more on the matter.

Not even drugs could help Klaus escape from the dead now.

...

"Well, bon appetit, little man," Klaus muttered, a few dead cockroaches sitting in front of the duo.

"Fuck this." Five said, glaring daggers at their current "meal." Klaus couldn't agree more.

"It's time you told me what caused the apocalypse, Klaus." Five said after a long sigh. "I know you know, and I know it must be bad if you've waited this long to tell me."

Klaus debated in his mind whether or not to tell Five the awful truth. He knew Five was close with Vanya, so the fact that she caused the apocalypse would most likely crush him, but knowing his brother, he knew Five would never stop asking, and that would just be annoying.

"Vanya."

"What?"

"Vanya has powers, and she was manipulated and abused into causing the apocalypse." Klaus said after a long, drawn-out sigh. "We tried to stop her but, it was too late."

Five stumbled back from Klaus, leaving his cockroach untouched, which was no surprise.

"You're joking. Vanya? Our sister who cried when we stepped on ants as kids?" Five asked incredulously.

"That's what I said!" Klaus exclaimed, "But years of the old man being an absolute prick, and us being assholes, really caught up to her. Those pills she took suppressed her powers, so I guess once she stopped taking them, it all just flooded out."

Five sat there for a moment, his eyes hollow. Klaus was about to touch his shoulder to make sure he hadn't passed out when the boy looked up again. 

"So this is hers?" he asked. He pulled out a brown eyeball from his pocket.

It was smeared red with blood and seemed to stare into the confines of Klaus's soul. He shivered.

"Uh no, as far as I'm concerned, Vanya never lost an eye." Klaus answered, averting his eyes from the prosthetic.

Five looked down at the eye, focusing. 

"I could have sworn it belonged to the one who caused the apocalypse..."

"Why?" Klaus asked, confused.

"Because it was clutched in Luther's dead hand."

Oh.

Klaus could faintly remember the moments before his death. He remembered seeing Allison trying to reason with Vanya, and being cast aside. He remembered Diego running after Vanya in anger after Allison had met her end, only to meet the same fate. And Luther has been beating the shit out of Vanya's creepy, manipulative boyfriend, Leonard Peabody. 

That was it.

"Leonard Peabody." Klaus said out loud, causing Five to look up. "Vanya's boyfriend. He's the one that made her go all crazy on us."

"Son of a bitch."

"Language, young man!"

"Shut up, Klaus."

...

It was hard to leave their siblings behind, but Klaus and Five needed to find shelter that didn't have a fire burning within arms reach at all times. 

"Abandoned department store? Don't mind if I do," Klaus whistled as he picked through the knocked over stands of clothes. Most of them were torn, but they managed to discover some articles of clothing to be undamaged.

"Oh, not even the apocalypse could bring down this baby," Klaus grinned as he held up a red, floral-print, Hawaiian shirt. Five groaned behind him.

To Five's dismay, Klaus decided to go with the shirt. 

"Now we can pretend the apocalypse is an exotic vacation!"

Klaus looked around for anything else salvageable, when he stumbled upon the top half of a mannequin. She wore a white blouse dotted with black and she reached her hand out as if asking to be brought along with Klaus.

Jesus christ, was he still high?

He picked her up anyway.

"Hey Five! Guess who joined our party!"

Her name was Dolores.

...

Klaus couldn't understand why the dead even bothered to pester him anymore, but his siblings didn't give him the light of day.

God, he needed drugs. 

Fuck the apocalypse.

"Klaus, you okay?" Five asked apprehensively.

Klaus cast a side-eye glance at the rambling store clerk and sighed. 

"Never better!"

...

"Let's check out this library, Klaus," Five called back. 

They were two months into the apocalypse, and they had stumbled across the first building they had found still standing.

It was definitely shaky, and Klaus kept a sharp eye, ready to shield Five at any moment.

"Vanya..." 

Klaus's head snapped up. Five was already several feet ahead of him, looking at a book displayed on a table. Okay, so maybe he wasn't ready to shield him at _any_ moment.

Klaus looked over his brother's shoulder. He was clutching a very familiar book. It's cover read:

_Extra Ordinary: My Life as Number Seven_

Vanya's autobiography. Five wasn't going to like this. She didn't spare anyone from her brutal honesty, even their missing brother, which Klaus always felt to be quite cold.

"Yeah, it's a bit, um, honest, is all. So if you don't want to read it-"

Five sat in the wagon with Dolores as Klaus begrudgingly dragged him to their next destination.

"You're lucky you're so stick thin or I might not have been so tolerant," Klaus scowled with no real venom at his brother over his shoulder. 

He got no response, so he just moved along while Five drowned in family memories.

...

"So, how was it?"

"Pretty good, all things considered."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading pals, i'll advance the plot soon but i just wanted some wholesome bro time


	3. but you're still on my lonely mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus makes amends.

Klaus noticed that Vanya's book had left Five with many questions. Some that Klaus was afraid to answer.

"You know you should probably wear something more protective," Five suggested one day, referring to the Hawaiian shirt Klaus refused to abandon.

"And I told you to lose the shorts, but did you?" He shot back. Five grumbled, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Uh, so Klaus," he spoke up again, sounding more hesitant. "You know how you can like, talk to the dead?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

Klaus didn't need to ask. He knew where this was going.

"Well, do you think you could conjure, you know, our family?"

Klaus sighed. He'd been hoping to avoid this. 

"You wouldn't be able to see them, Five."

"But you could see them."

Klaus couldn't meet Five's eyes. They still glistened with hope after all these weeks of focusing on nothing but survival.

"Here, let's make a deal," Five said, standing up and walking over to Klaus. "I'll work on figuring out an equation to time travel us back, and you'll try to contact everyone else." He extended his hand to Klaus.

Klaus looked up.

"Deal."

...

_"Klaus, your life is valuable! You can't just throw it away like this. I want to help you through your addiction, but there's nothing I can do if you don't listen to me!"_

_"Why do you even care, Ben?"_

_"I'm your brother, I want to be there for you."_

_"If you care so much about life, why'd you throw away yours?"_

_"Klaus, you know I don't like talk-"_

_"Sorry, I don't think I should be listening to advice about my self-destructive habits from someone who killed himself."_

_"Klaus-"_

_"Just leave."_

_"Klaus!"_

...

"Klaus!" Five was shaking Klaus awake. "We gotta go, this building isn't going to hold much longer.

Klaus scrambled to his feet, his mind still scattered. As the two escaped the ruined restaurant with their red wagon in tow, Klaus felt Five's eyes on him.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, putting a hand on Klaus's shoulder. 

Touch. Klaus wished he could have touched Ben again, gave him one more hug before the end of the world. But that was impossible, of course.

"I'm fine." he finally said, slipping his hands into his pockets and shrugging off Five's hand.

"Bullshit." Five said bluntly, "Talk to me."

Klaus couldn't bear to say no. The guilt settled in the bottom of his stomach as he stayed silent. Letting out a drawn out sigh, he sat down on a nearby stone, prepared to tell his story.

"I used to be able to conjure Ben. He was always there, for over five years. Of course, everyone else blamed it on my drug-induced hallucinations, but there's no way my mind could be so concerned for my own well-being." Klaus felt Five sit down across from him, but his eyes were closed tight in reminiscence. 

"Does that mean he's here right now?" Five asked hopefully. Klaus's laugh was hoarse and dry, a result of dehydration over the past months.

"Yeah that's kind of the issue." Five's face fell as Klaus spoke those words. "See, your big bro here is actually just a big prick. I said some things that I regret and I haven't seen him since the apocalypse."

He expected Five to be horrified, disappointed, heart-broken. Out of all the things he could have said...

"Well have you even tried talking to him?"

Five was always straightforward, but never had Klaus felt so stupid.

"Well, no-" he started, but Five kept talking.

"You think Ben is the type to hold a grudge against you? _Ben?_ " he said incredulously, as if Klaus had accused Ben of murder.

"You don't get it, Five, I hit some sensitive spots. He doesn't want to talk to me." Klaus looked down in shame, wishing Five would understand. His brother just wouldn't budge.

"Talk to him, Klaus. You're all he has. I know you've been seeing ghosts the whole time we've been here and it's driving you mad. Ben is the only one who can help you with this. He's all you have." 

Five had always been rather profound for his age. 

"Since when did you care so much, little bro?" Klaus nudged him, smirking.

"Shut up."

...

"Hey, Ben?" Klaus asked to open air. He was sitting cross-legged, clutching Vanya's autobiography. Five sat far off to the side, scribbling down some equations Klaus would never understand.

"I don't know if you're into offerings or whatever, but I brought you a book!" Klaus said weakly, waving around Vanya's book. "Sure it retold our childhood traumas and revealed some of our darkest secrets, but I mean, hey! It's a book, you like those!"

Five looked up, visibly unimpressed. Klaus hissed at Five, and went back to his pathetic attempt to summon his _other_ brother.

After minutes of nothing, Klaus tossed the book to the side, groaning. Five ran to where the book landed, brushed the dust off the cover, and started writing in the margins of that too.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he yelled to no one. "I need you here with me and Five, and I've taken our bond for granted. I really want you to come back."

Klaus flopped onto his back, staring up at the ash that fell down on his still form.

Silence.

"Fuck this," Klaus muttered, taking a gulp of water before closing his eyes to sleep.

...

_"Four more hours in the mausoleum, Number Four!"_

_"Is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the centre of attention?"_

_"I'm your brother, I want to be there for you."_

...

"You know you talk in your sleep?"

Klaus heard a faint voice above him.

That wasn't Five.

A familiar face leaned over Klaus. 

"Ben."

"You're an idiot, you know that?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, benny boy is here
> 
> i'm wounded you would even fathom the idea of me forgetting our lord and saviour ben hargreeves 
> 
> also since I don't actually know how ben died I just made something up so don't kill me pls
> 
> thanks for reading <3


	4. should i give up or should i just keep chasing pavements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The apocalypse is overwhelming.

"Let me just say, there is nothing that says more about you than the fact that you got sent back from the afterlife because God doesn't like you."

Ben was always such a sarcastic little shit. Klaus loves his brothers.

Klaus was honoured to be in the presence of the two people that held the brain cells of this family, but common sense can be tiring.

"Shut your pie hole, Ben," Klaus looked over at Ben, "Said with love." 

Klaus has really missed Ben.

Klaus felt Five's stare on his back, and he turned around. The boy quickly averted his gaze. Klaus looked down and felt a pang of guilt. Five was probably getting tired of only seeing Klaus's face. 

Klaus only talked to Ben when Five wasn't around to hear.

...

Five was falling behind as they walked along the debris-scattered trail. 

"Hey, slowpoke!" Klaus called over his shoulder. "What are you -" Klaus was cut off by a thud directly behind him.

"Shit. Five!" Klaus let out a strangled cry as he watched his little brother collide with the gravel. He gasped shaky breaths as he assumed the worst, hovering his hands over Five's still form.

"Klaus!" Ben was the one to snap Klaus out of his panic. "You have to do something, before he really dies! Just breathe." Ben sounded quite frantic himself, but Klaus took his brother's advice. 

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Five needed water. Klaus scrambled to find their supply and dribbled as much as he could without drowning the boy into Five's mouth.

"I don't know if force-feeding him water was the best plan," Ben muttered. 

"Do you have any other ideas?" Klaus yelled, loosening Five's collar and tie to make sure he had as much air as possible. 

"Maybe take his jacket off?" Ben suggested with a condescending tone, "It's July, why's he even wearing it in the first place?" 

Klaus has to admit, that was a good idea.

"God, you're such a mom."

...

Bright green irises peeked our from under Five's droopy eyelids.

"Klaus! He's awake!"

Klaus rushes over at Ben's words, leaning over Five. 

He looked exhausted. Five had already been thin but now, he was skin and bone. His hair was matted with ash, and his face was deathly pale.

"Please talk to me," he pleaded, clutching Five's hand. He was not letting another ghost follow him.

Five's eyes were fluttering shut, but his hand continued shaking between Klaus's. His chest heaved and he trembled.

"Klaus?"

Klaus turned around. Unless Delores suddenly learned to make audible sound, or Ben could do a really good impression of a female voice, Klaus was pretty sure he hadn't heard this voice in their time in the apocalypse.

He knew that face. 

"Vanya." Klaus breathes out, almost completely forgetting about Five. Almost.

"I'm glad to see you but there's no time! You had to help me with Five!" he shouted, turning back to his brother. Five was burning up.

"Five? Oh my god," Vanya muttered, looking over at her younger brother with sad eyes. "So he came here." She didn't smile when she saw her brother, but instead felt the guilt of creating this for him in the first place.

"Not important! Get some water for him!" Ben shouted impatiently. Klaus was about to repeat his words when Vanya whipped her head in Ben's direction.

"Ben," she smiled as she stared at him, "I had no idea this was where you were spending your days." 

Klaus and Ben gaped at her.

She gave a guilty smile, demonstrating as her hand phased through the bottle.

"You think I would let myself stay alive after what I'd done to the world?" she sat down, laughing humourlessly to herself.

"Did you even look for survivors?" Ben asked accusingly, which Klaus found surprisingly. Ben may have raised his voice at Klaus multiple times but never Vanya. "You could have at least given your siblings a proper burial, if you came back, you could have found Five instead of making him spend a week alone before Klaus woke up!" 

Vanya took a step back, cradling herself. Klaus stared back and forth between Ben and Vanya. 

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I should go. I'm sorry. I'm sorry" 

Vanya disappeared.

Klaus gave Ben a look.

"You totally scared her off!" Klaus said incredulously. "Aren't you usually the level-headed one?"

Ben sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I just, I was just angry. It might be uncalled for but she still could have done something afterwards. If she really wanted to atone for what she did she would have made an effort."

Damn.

Klaus figures Ben didn't want to talk about it, so he continued watching over Five. He e was still warm, but he was in a peaceful sleep, breathing steadily. He took a bit of water, pouring it over a piece of fabric. Using it as a makeshift cloth, he put it over Five's forehead. 

"This is a thing people do, right Ben?" Klaus asked as he carefully placed it. 

"Yep." Ben answered absentmindedly. 

...

When Klaus heard the string of curses he knew Five was up.

"Hey, hey," Klaus hurries over to Five, who was clutching the cold cloth in his hands. "Careful there, pal, don't want to go overexerting yourself _again_.

"You shouldn't have wasted water on this dumb cloth," he muttered.

"Well you were burning up, what could I do?" Klaus said with a breathy laugh.

"I'm not a child."

"Actually, you are."

"Irrelevant."

...

Klaus debated for hours about whether he should tell Five about Vanya. Ben thought Five was better off not knowing, but then again, Ben was still a bit angry. 

Klaus looked up to see Five with Delores scribbling down equations in his book again. It didn't help Klaus's conscience to see Vanya's face in the cover, staring him down. 

Klaus and Ben shared a knowing glance with each other.

...

"Klaus?" Five spoke up, sounding unsure.

"Yes, Mi Hermano?" Klaus answered in a joking tone.

"Shut up."

"Sorry. Anyway, what's up?"

"Is Ben here?"

Klaus almost didn't catch it by how quiet Five was.

"Always!" Klaus answered, happy Ben was getting some attention.

"Well get out, I need to talk to him." Five said sharply. "What direction do I need to face to look at him?

Klaus helped face Five in the right direction and then begrudgingly left the area. 

Klaus kicked a pebble and walked over to Delores.

"You're the only one who understands me, Delores," Klaus sighed wistfully. He sat down next to her, leaning against the wagon. 

He had overestimated the stability of a red wagon against the weight of a thirty year old man.

He let out a sharp cry as the wagon went down with him. Klaus groaned as he laid on the ground in defeat. He looked over to see that Vanya's book was once again staring him in the face. 

Klaus promptly threw the book a few feet away. Bad decision.

Klaus watched in horror as Five's makeshift bookmark slipped from the pages as the book collided with the ground.

"He is going to kill me," Klaus muttered as he flipped through the many pages. "Shit, where was it?"

As he frantically searched the book, he caught something written on one of the blank pages in the back.

He paused to read through what had been carefully written.

 _Dear Vanya,_

Oh god. Klaus wasn't ready for this.

_It's Five. You're never going to read this since you're probably dead, but I still believe you could be out there._

_I'm not one for sappy stuff, as you know, but I feel like getting some thoughts off my chest._

_I don't blame you for the apocalypse. I blame your creepy , manipulative boyfriend, and out creepy, manipulative dad. I wish I could have been there for you, but I was stupid. I left and it's all my fault. I could have prevented the apocalypse, but now I'm stuck in it. That's why I want to go back. I want to find the right equation to travel back to the day I left so I can be there for you. Well, I want to, but I can't go back that far. I wouldn't do that to Klaus or Ben. They've already lived out their lives and sending them back to their awful childhood would be cruel. Honestly, I don't really want to go back to Dad's personal training either. I think instead of being so ambitious as to travel back seventeen years, I'll go back to the same year the apocalypse happens. Maybe a few months back. I'm sure that's enough time to warn everyone and stop the apocalypse._

_On another note, I want to thank you for everything you did for me. When dad would make me jump until I emptied the contents of my stomach, you were there. I read about how you left me sandwiches and kept the lights on, and I feel guilty for making you do that for me, but it makes me feel like someone missed me._

Klaus felt his heart clench. Five was pouring his heart out, and Klaus felt like he was overstepping. He tried not to think about the mention of Five's personal training, and how Five has really taken Klaus's feelings into account. He put the bookmark in a random page and walked back.

He wasn't ready for this either.

The sight of Ben trying desperately to wipe Five's tears away, only to have his hands phase through was worse than Five's note to Vanya.

Klaus quietly approached Five, but the clattering of a rock gave away his position. Five snapped his head in Klaus's direction.

"I thought I told you to leave!" Five croaked, not even bothering to wipe away his tears.

"Hug him," Ben muttered, gesturing towards the quivering Five.

Klaus looked over at Ben for a moment.

_Hug him._

And so he did.

Five didn't protest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so school sucks ok  
> spring break is over so updates will be less frequent but I'm still continuing!


	5. flowers mean forgiveness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus heard a rumour that Twinkies have an endless shelf life.

You'd think that after a lifetime of being ignored, Vanya wouldn't bother tailing people that refused to acknowledge her existence, or couldn't, in Five's case. You'd think that, but as Klaus walked down a dusty path with Five and Ben close behind he heard a sniff, and immediately whipped around to see where the noise had come from. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted his sister following them from far away. Ben spotted her too, and they shared a look, while Five wore an expression of confusion.

"What are you looking at?" Five asked, also checking behind him.

"It's nothing, just a ghost that decided to follow us." Klaus responded. He wasn't lying, just not telling the whole truth. He could sense Vanya's disappointment as they continued walking.

Maybe it wasn't fair. Maybe they should be talking to Vanya, and including her for once in their lives, but the fact still stood that Vanya destroyed the whole world, and Klaus couldn't do that to Five. He already knew that Vanya had caused the apocalypse, but to know that now she was dead, and he couldn't even talk to her? Five had enough on his plate.

...

It had been six months, and the apocalypse was really getting to them. An hour didn't go by without one of them having a coughing fit, lungs filled with ash. They were inhaling the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes a day, and their voices had become raspy and rough.

Five wasn't about to give up his pearly white smile though, and lucky for him, he struck gold after finding a couple tubes of toothpaste and some floss. Klaus could really care less what his teeth looked like - this was the apocalypse after all - so he left the supply to Five while he kicked back and watched Five scrub his teeth clean with his less-than-clean hand. It was interesting, to say the least.

And of course, there was the issue of water. They were in the heart of the city, not able to travel far enough to reach any possibility of a creek or river. When they found a wine cellar untouched, Five was the one to stop Klaus from emptying out the entire supply. Who knew that alcohol actually made you dehydrated? 

Needless to say, they were limited to a few sips of water a day, and who could forget that they had resorted to eating insects on multiple occasions? Not Klaus, unfortunately.

The moment Klaus saw Five's torso and could count each individual rib, he knew that they needed more food as soon as possible.

...

"Klaus, it's no use." Klaus heard Five yell as he sat down in the middle of the demolished grocery store. "All this food is spoiled or crushed, or both."

Klaus ignored Five's complaints and continued to dig through the destroyed shelves. 

"How the hell did you manage to destroy literally everything?" Klaus muttered to Vanya under his breath, who was silently observing him. She flinched, and backed away after hearing the comment. 

Man, the apocalypse really made Klaus bitter.

After almost an hour of searching, Five had lost any energy he had to begin with, and Klaus lifted his last piece of rubble. He sighed and turned around, when bright blue packaging caught his eye.

A box of twinkies lay, only slightly smushed, on the ground.

"Oh my god, Five," Klaus grinned as he grabbed the box. "I think I found dinner."

Five walked over and wrinkled his nose at the box.

"Twinkies?" He asked, skeptical. Five folded his arms, looking desperate, but hesitant. The boy may have been starving in the apocalypse, but he had standards.

"Don't these things have an endless shelf life?" Klaus asked, not really expecting Five to have an answer.

"Well, I guess we'll find out."

...

They got their answer after Five immediately vomited on the pavement.

Five swore, wiping his mouth and stumbling away from where the contents of his lunch. Vanya gasped, Ben sighed, and Klaus tried to hold back a laugh, failing.

If looks could kill, Klaus would have gone back to the afterlife five times over. Maybe that girl would have picked up his Wild West theme suggestion by then.

"I thought you said these had an endless shelf life," Five groaned, too sick to move.

"My bad, I guess."

"Fuck you, Klaus."

...

So the search for food was a failed attempt, it seemed, and Five and Klaus sat by their wagon with Delores, Five still recovering from the Twinkie.

"Can you believe him, Delores?" Five muttered as he scribbled equations in Vanya's book. 

He looked up at Klaus after a pause.

"Delores says we should ditch you."

"Wow, that's the tea I guess," Klaus responded nonchalantly. Five, his mind still in 2002, gave him a look, but soon just dismissed it as a Klaus Thing™. 

They sat there in silence for a while, with only the sound of the scratching of Five's pencil and the flipping of pages heard. Klaus looked up at the dreary sky.

"It's October," Klaus realized, sitting up. "You think there'll be snow?"

"God, I hope not," Five responded, not looking up from his book. "That'd be a major inconvenience. Maybe the apocalypse will do us a favour for once."

Klaus doubted it, but didn't say anything.

"So, how are the equations going?" Klaus asked, changing the subject. 

Five tapped his pencil on the page, thinking to himself.

"I guess I should probably give you a rundown on what I'm thinking for our escape." Five responded. "At first I wanted to go back to the day I left, maybe reverse whatever trauma Dad put you guys through after I left, and..."

He trailed off.

"And I wanted to you know, make sure Ben stayed alive."

Klaus winced at that. He had forgotten that while Klaus didn't need to recover from Ben's death, Five had only found out about his passing six months ago. 

Five coughed.

"Anyway, that _was_ my plan, but it's just too ambitious for my power level. I may have been able to jump forward seventeen years, but jumping backwards while following this same timeline is above my pay grade. Not to mention, you're still thirty years old, which would mean either you'd end up as a thirteen year old, you'd have a thirteen year old you running around along with your current body, or your body would replace your thirteen year old body. Those would all be bad."

Klaus was finding it difficult to follow, but he did agree that all three of those possibilities were not ones he'd like to imagine.

"So here's the plan. We jump back earlier in the year of 2019, and since you have the details of how the apocalypse was caused, we'll be able to prevent it." Five finished, snapping the book shut, looking up at Klaus for a response.

"Wow, you've really thought this through." Was all Klaus had to offer.

"Well of course I have!" Five snarled, with no real malice behind it. "Now I just need to come up with the right equation. You know, if it weren't for you, I'd probably be trying to get back to 2002. Imagine that, years of trying something impossible. I think we're really making progress here, though."

Klaus felt himself genuinely smile.

Maybe there was hope for them after all.

"But first, sleep!"

...

It was only when Five was fast asleep when Klaus turned to Vanya. She flinched at his stare, but eventually looked up.

"I know it's not your fault," Klaus said quietly, surprised at his own vulnerability. Usually he'd mask his feelings with humour or deflect, but he allowed himself to just be honest for once.

Vanya still didn't speak. She clutched at the white suit she couldn't ever take off, and Klaus got a good look at her for the first time since the day of the apocalypse. She looked... well, awful. Eyeliner was smudged around her chocolate brown eyes, forming tear tracks down her face. Crimson red was pooled around her torso and arms, staining her clothes a sickening colour. Her hair, which had been almost glowing, pure energy flowing through it, was now flat, laying against her sullen face and sunken shoulders. 

She was so pale.

"I know it's not your fault, but, I've been unfair to you all the same. I can't blame anyone else here, and I guess living in the apocalypse has made me bitter." Klaus looked Vanya directly in the eyes, refusing to make this insincere. He was done with the sad lingering, and the blatant ignorance. If he was going to make Vanya relive her childhood, then he'd have to find a mausoleum to lock himself in. 

He didn't want that.

Klaus could see tears forming in Vanya's dark and sad eyes. He offered her a small smile.

"Come on, sis, lighten up. Ben can give you a hug, right?" Klaus looked over at Ben, who gave Vanya an apologetic smile, extending his arms.

Vanya let out a choked cry and ran over to Ben, collapsing into his arms.

She allowed the sobs to escape her throat, burying her face in Ben's shoulder.

"I missed you so much." Vanya muttered through whimpers. Ben clutched her, closing his eyes. He may have closed his eyes, but not soon enough to keep Klaus from seeing the tears that threatened to fall.

"I love awkward sibling hugs!" Klaus laughed, almost forgetting the sleeping Five next to him.

"I mean, I love awkward sibling hugs," he repeated, whispering this time.

Vanya let out a teary sigh, and Ben laughed quietly.

Who knew a ghost family would be more functional than a real one?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so there's chapter 5 !!
> 
> my writing is kind of shit but alas, i'm doing this anyway.
> 
> do you guys want longer chapters? i've been wondering, and if you want it, i'll start writing longer ones
> 
> anyway, thanks for reading, and comments keep me going <3


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